Pastebot Gets Multitasking - Now Better Than Ever
by Tim Chaten
October 29, 2010
The problem with copy/paste is you only have access to the last thing you cut or copied. Also, you can only access the clippings on the iDevice itself. Pastebot solves this problem by allowing endless access to cuts and copies. Once you copy or cut something, that latest clipping will be available on your Mac and/or iPhone to paste immediately. Your old data will also be saved in the app itself.
Pastebot is a powerful clipboard manager that stores text and images copied from your iPhone/iPod touch. You can organize, apply filters, and copy clippings to be pasted or sent to other apps.
Version 1.4 adds some great features, including long awaited multitasking support. The one snag here is that iOS limits apps to 10 minutes of run time in the background. Originally the developers tried to use a silent audio track to make the app always run in the background, but this was rejected by Apple. The app works great, but is not quite as useful as it could be. To turn on this feature simply enter the in-app settings and navigate to “Background” and enable “Run in Background.”
Backgrounding means that anything copied within those 10 minutes will be added to the Pastebot clipboard. It also means photos and other clippings can be copied in the background. Your iOS device will receive a notification when the 10 minutes is up, instructing you to reopen the app. The update provides the iPhone user with a lot more power in dealing with data.
With these updates the app really feels “magical.” When you’re working on a Mac; copy something, hit paste on the iPhone and the clipping is pasted from the Mac. If you copy something on your iPhone it can then be pasted to your Mac. It also works with more than just text, you can use images too. The app brings your iPhone and Mac a connected clipboard. The amazing thing is everything is fast and seamless so there is no waiting around for pasting to happen. Users no longer have to email themselves pictures or text. The app is truly fantastic.
Other enhancements include send to text (iPhone only), single tap for images in fullscreen, and plenty of bug fixes.
Pastebot is a great app that gets even better with this update. Hopefully in the future Apple will increase the background runtime of apps like these.
What cool things you are using Pastebot for? Tell us in the comments.
Pastebot is available on the App Store now, for $3.99.
